Stargazing
by Silindro
Summary: Oneshot. His little girl wanted the heavens. He couldn't rest without giving them to her.


a/n: Wow, this one's been on the finish-it-or-die list for months and months now. My muse Jorge (whore-hay) kicked into gear a few weeks back and now I'm trying to fix all the broken stories that I'd left lying in folders on my hard drive. Hope this meets your standards, it met mine.

Stargazing-----------

The sun had long faded from the sky, leaving behind a hazy horizon with mixed colors of pink and purple and orange. Rin always liked looking at the sunsets, but her favorite thing to do before bed was to look at the stars.

Having lived on her own for a time after the loss of her family, the girl had relied on the natural world around her for amusement and resources. At night she had always spent time gazing and wondering at the darkened unknown above her. But since there was little other contact than that of the forest animals and the harsh village population, Rin knew nothing of the stories about the stars and the moon. She had only ever wondered.

Being with Sesshoumaru and Jaken had been a temporary distraction from her star-gazing nights. Instead, she relished in having semi-friendly company and companions that did not reject her. That was worth more to her than the balls of light in the night sky. But as it happens often, attentions wander, and Rin was back to spending time watching the stars when it got dark at night.

Sesshoumaru was not oblivious to Rin's nighttime habits, as he often noticed the signs of consciousness long after he had told her to get some rest. He had seen her on several occasions looking upwards at the heavens, but never interfered.

Something about this night seemed good for meddling, and the demon lord found himself drawn toward his young ward.

"Why have you not gone to sleep?"

Rin, startled by the sudden intrusion of her lord, jumped sharply and let out a small squeak of surprise. She turned slightly fearful eyes toward the demon lord, ashamed at having been caught deliberately disobeying his orders of rest.

"Gomenne, Sesshoumaru-sama," she said, straightening out the kimono material lying across her lap. "I just wanted to look at the stars."

Sesshoumaru turned his eyes upwards for a brief second before letting them rest back on the young girl.

"Are they so interesting that you must stay awake to watch them?"

Rin let out a small sigh and drew her knees up to her chest. She rested her chin on her knees and stared at the grass beneath her feet, not wanting to answer the demon lord's question.

"Rin."

Unable to withstand the piercing stare of the inu-youkai, Rin looked up and met his intent look. He moved the few feet that separated them and surprisingly enough sat down on the grass next to her.

There was temporary silence as the two quietly gazed at the heavenly bodies above.

"Sesshoumaru-sama, why are there stars in the sky?"

Taken aback by a question he had never before encountered, the demon lord did not know how to respond to such an inquiry. The confusion did not show on his face, however, and he quickly made up an explanation worthy of a six year old girl.

"Youkai," he stated. "Youkai put the stars there, just as youkai hung the moon among them."

"How did they do it?" she asked, clearly awed at the inu-youkai's knowledge.

"They flew to the heavens," he answered.

"But we fly too, why can't we hang stars?"

"You are not youkai."

"Oh."

Quieting down to take in the information that she had been given, Rin's mind began to connect the pieces together. If youkai could fly and hang stars in the sky, then…

"Can you hang stars, Sesshoumaru-sama? You can fly, and you are youkai! Will you hang me a star, Sesshoumaru-sama? I want a big one that twinkles so everyone can see!"

Sesshoumaru left her question unanswered.

"Sleep now," he commanded, standing to leave the girl to her rest. "We will travel in the morning."

--

It was easy enough to distract Rin's attention just by pointing out a field of wildflowers, or even an oddly shaped cloud in the sky, but there was no story or diversion that Sesshoumaru could offer when Rin wanted to know where they were going. She had been told that they would travel north, but the Sun was rising in the sky behind them, and that meant they were going in a different direction.

He could hear the nonstop chatter of the girl behind him, still curious to know why they were going west, even in the late hours of the afternoon. She hadn't stopped asking questions since they had begun to walk, and it didn't look like she would be quieting down anytime soon.

Luckily enough they had reached their destination. And little Rin was so busy talking that she didn't notice when they had stopped. She ran into the back of Sesshoumaru's leg and looked shyly up at him in embarrassment.

"We will stay here tonight."

"Hai," she agreed, quieting down.

They had been walking all day and she was naturally tired, just as a little girl should be. Sitting down against a tree, she watched Jaken gather twigs and other materials for their small, nightly campfire. The imp was busy at his task, muttering quietly to himself about annoying brats and their ungrateful masters when Rin slipped off into a calming slumber.

Sesshoumaru found her lying against the roots of the enormous tree hours later with Jaken asleep at his guard nearby. Rin mumbled in her sleep and shifted onto her side.

Kneeling down, the taiyoukai took the small girl in his arm, mindful to keep her away from the spikes of his armor. He picked her up gently as not to wake her, and began to walk back through the trees from which he had come. Jaken was still unconscious as he carried the girl away.

Reaching their destination a short time later, Sesshoumaru perched himself in the middle of a large rock and willed his young ward awake.

"Rin," he called.

The little girl blinked her drowsy eyes open and looked up curiously at her lord. It wasn't often that she awoke looking at him, and it was even rarer that she awoke tucked safely in the crook of his arm. The unspoken question of why she was there hung between the two of them as she tried to clear the fuzziness from her head.

Scooting herself in a much more upright position, she looked at their surroundings and let out a surprised gasp.

Sesshoumaru sat on a rock surrounded on all sides by dark water that reflected stars of all sizes twinkling from the heavens above. The water was calm and still and mirrored the sky so perfectly that it seemed Sesshoumaru had taken her into the sky itself.

"Sesshoumaru-sama," she said breathlessly. "It's so pretty!"

The demon lord titled his head down to look at the small girl and the euphoric expression that had taken over her face. He had seen her happy before, but never speechless as his surprise had then seemed to render her now.

Letting her down, she moved to the edge of the rock, dipping her hand in the water. Ripples distorted the stars and made her giggle. She splashed some of the sky-water onto her face and grinned back at the demon.

"Rin asked Sesshoumaru-sama for one star, but he has given her many! Arigato, Sesshoumaru-sama!"

The inu-youkai said nothing. He was content to revel in Rin's company and silently enjoy a pastime that was once belonged to her, but now became a shared diversion of their own.

* * *

a/n: Check out my other Inuyasha stories too!

Y'know, I started this story before I wrote 'Make Room for Heaven', my X-Men fic, but this one kind of plagiarizes that one. Both use skies of stars. Ah well, my idea, I can use it however many times I want.

I have this weird fascination with Sesshoumaru giving Rin things and keeping her amused and happy. She's like a puppy, always craving attention and getting special treats when she looks sad or does something good.

Running out of plot ideas, people, I need some feedback. Email me or catch me on AIM. The info is on my author page.

It's a fanfiction sin to read without reviewing.


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